Franklin's Fons savors second WIAA state cross country title

Franklin - No, don't talk about a "four-peat" yet with Franklin sophomore cross country ace Allie Fons.

Let her enjoy the moment. Let her savor the Division 1 all-time best 4,000-meter time of 13:56.48 that she recorded in dominating the field at the WIAA state cross country meet Saturday in Wisconsin Rapids.

Just let her sit back comfortably in the knowledge that she is just one of 13 girls to repeat as champion in the 36-year history of the meet and that she recorded this time on a gorgeous sunlit day, winning by 30 seconds over arguably the deepest field in Wisconsin girls prep cross country history.

Let her applaud the fact that University Lake School Molly Seidel won her fourth straight D3 title, becoming only the second runner in Wisconsin history to do it aside from Olympian Suzy Favor, but don't come pressuring Fons about how she may do that some day herself.

No, just let her be happy in this moment. A moment that included having teammates around to celebrate with - as this was the first Franklin team to earn a berth in a state team meet in 20 years. It also included a rose that her father gave her after she had won, a happy trip to an area Panera's afterward and a blessed early bed-time last Sunday night after a long, tense and accomplished season.

Yes, just let her be and let the future take care of itself.

After all, she's earned that right for the time being.

"Four titles?" she said. "I don't think I can look that far ahead just yet. I'm just happy to have accomplished what I've done so far. If it comes up in the next two years, then I'll deal with it. Not before."

Her coach Regina Schindel is not surprised at that level of humility.

"She was quiet at the awards ceremony, as we sat with the other competitors her and I joked about doing interviews," said Schindel. "Not something she expected to become a normal part of racing. … I thought about telling her how amazing she is, or how I think she has a chance to be one of the best in the nation, but Allie is humble. Those talks make her uncomfortable and so instead we talked about our dinner plans at Panera and she thanked me again for everything, including being the bus driver (laughs)."

"It was a good day."

Fons led Franklin to a 19th-place showing of 20 teams, a somewhat disappointment for a squad making its first appearance since 1991.

But there was no disappointment in her race. She would have been the star of the show if not for Seidel, who ran a blistering 13:39 in winning the D3 race. Seidel is one of the top recruits in the nation, being sought after by many schools, a phenom who is running times that high-level NCAA Division I coaches are filling her voice-mail and e-mail inbox over and over again about.

But with her ability, it won't be long until Fons is considered in that same league and will have the same happy problems.

Just listen to Whitefish Bay coach Mike Miller, who's all-state level runner Emma-Lisa Murphy was dusted quite easily by Fons in the sectional on Oct. 22.

"After Molly, she (Fons) is easily the class of the state," said Miller. "There was no one who was going to beat her this day unless she fell down. A lot of people tried to go with her early, but there was simply no one in the ballpark."

Indeed, as Arrowhead's highly regarded Jackie Dubnicka ran a scorching-fast time of 14:26.65 for second, but was not even within Fons' sight-lines. The pair were part of a record 19 runners who broke 15 minutes this day, and the 16-minute barrier, long a standard for excellence among girls preps in Wisconsin, was shattered by a preposterous 100 competitors.

This was the kind of field that Fons triumphed over.

"I was a little surprised (at the margin of victory)," she said. "I thought that there would be more girls going with me, but by around the half-way point I was alone. It didn't feel like the best race right away in the beginning, but then I started to feel a little better.

"Getting that 14-minute barrier was something I thought about at the beginning of the year and it turned out to be more important to me than I thought. I was pretty relieved when I looked up at the clock.

"It's an interesting feeling right now. Last year I was so surprised. I had no thoughts of winning whatsoever. This year there was pressure on me and I was relieved to get it done and get it done the right way."

Schindel was amazed at how the race played out.

"She (Fons) was in about 10th place the first 800 meters and I asked her why she had a concerned look on her face," Schindel said. "I was thinking how are all these girls running so fast and are they going to keep up this pace? Allie was smart, she let others set the pace and just followed.

"She looked extremely strong coming down the long hill after the mile and the top three girls separated from the rest. As she came around the pond and started to go up one of the back hills, she surged ahead of the other girls and the rest is history. She continued to put almost 30 seconds between her and the now pack of four other girls over the last 1,000 meters and over arguably the most difficult section of the course.

"Just amazing."

Both Fons and Schindel said the rest of the team was disappointed by the finish in the team standings.

"They didn't have any experience (of how big the state field is) and didn't know how crowded it would be," Fons said. "They were a little surprised at how it all played out, but I'm just so proud of them and of what they did this season."

Schindel added: "The girls were in position at the mile to do well but got lost in the crowds for much of the race and were lost in the intensity of the course and crowds. I asked each girl what had happened but no one could pinpoint anything specific. The team was disappointed but happy to have earned the opportunity."

Fons said she is thinking about entering the upcoming Foot Locker Midwest Regional, which would be another step toward national recognition.

"I guess I'm happy and excited," she said. "It was good to improve (by 28 seconds over last year's state time) when I thought I had done pretty good before. It really helped having the team around this season. I was able to focus on helping them as well. I thought about it (the title) a little last week, but having the team around helped me get away from that a little bit."

But once she got into the race, it was like being at a party with long-time friends.

"This last week was fun," she said. "We were off a few days (for teacher's convention). So we were able to train and relax together, and when we got there (Rapids), I realized how happy I was to be back among a big crowd of people who loved running as much as I do."

"It was just so exciting."

A moment to savor.

Fons wins second state title

SEC champion Sabers gain experience as a team

WIAA STATE DI MEET, OCT. 29, WISCONSIN RAPIDS

TEAM SCORES (top five and Franklin): Arrowhead 56, Neenah 81, Madison West 86, River Falls 202, Wausau West 206, Franklin (19th) 377.

FRANKLIN INDIVIDUALS: Fons, first (13:56.48); Monica Sweet, 79th (16:11.28); Katelyn Salzburger, 94th (16:28.97); Katherine Carlino, 97th (16:30.96); Hannah Timm, 106th (16:39.1); Jennifer Eickhorst, 118th (16:53.94); and Emma Klein, 126th (17:16.82).

OVERALL INDIVIDUALS: Fons, Franklin (13:56.48); Dubnicka, Arrowhead (14:26.65); Sarah Heinemann, Waunakee (14:27.34); Taylor Clyse, Slinger (14:28.45) and Olvia Pratt, Madison West (14:29.27).